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A mega company?
Topic Started: Oct 12 2008, 05:46 AM (290 Views)
Niongor
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Giver of the *Hi-5*
Fin,Oct 16 2008
05:54 AM
Nio "The British Empire brought law and order, justice and equality and of course freedom and democracy"

I find that to be untrue for most of their colonies and also when the brits went off and left they put people who hated each other in the same nation, Iraq anyone...anyways yes i have to admite they did do some nice things but they also did some horrible things as well. And all empires, U.K. or USA all abused and used their colonies/territories.

ANd how did this become the WWI thread?

Actually, the British left most of their colonies at the request of the locals, whom used the British established political order to try and run there own countries.

Let's not forget, every coup in Africa took place after the British left. In the case of "putting people in charge who hate each other", India and Pakistan (as an example) divided themselves, asking the British to oversee the process. Iraq created its own problems after the British left, because there was a power vacuum where the previously neutral British had once ruled from.

Let us not forget my homeland: South Africa. The British refused to support apartheid, they intervened by blockading South African ports - the only nation to take a physical stand against South Africa's regime. Consequence: South Africa became a republic and left the Commonwealth. Apartheid then got much worse.

You are complete right of course in the fact that all Empires at some point will abuse their colonies and the people therein, and South Africa suffered that abuse particularly hard. They did butcher many thousands in their persuit of Empire, but the scale to which the British killed is no where near comparable to the extent to which other Empires mutilated natives. Anybody know of the atrocities committed by the Japanese in WW2? Or the atrocities committed by Germany in Southwest Africa? The British weren't that bad (although some of their actions were very nasty and I'm in no way condoning them!).

However, I stand by what I said. The in-fighting, collapse of democracy and the ending of rule of law and democracy all came about after the British left, and not as a consequence of our leaving. Almost every nation had stability upon the leaving of the British, but the power vacuum left the fledgling nations weak and so subject to coups and civil strifes.
"There is no next time: it's now or never!"

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Lorelai County
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Well there are always two sides of a coin. While it is possible to point out positive effects of colonialism, it should not be forgotten that any colonialism attempt was not driven by the altruistic wish to help someone but to increase the own power and wealth. The justifications arguments of colonialism is often like imprisoning someone for his so called “own sake” and pointing out “We are feeding him well” while in fact keeping him as cheap source of labor/resources.

Colonial regimes never did something against the hate between the local groups (sometimes it has been intentionally increased) so the population won’t be able to focus on uniting themselves against their authority. After leaving the squeezed colonies it’s no wonder democracy, human rights and peace had a tough time in the former colonies. The former regimes didn’t take serious attempts to spread those ideas and stability in the population (population not marionette government). This tactic is something like holding someone over the bridge ledge on purpose while stealing his money. As soon the other is able to get free, he will fall down and the former regimes say “You see, without me he wasn’t able to survive.” So at one point you are right, that colonial regimes maintained some kind of stability to keep up their authority, but not in a positive way or for the sake of the native people. A big part of the left behind power vacuum and the “powder keg“ conditions leading to destabilization is to blame on the colonial regimes.

“Request of the locals” - Usually former colonies had no other choice then “requesting” their wishes by active or passive resistance and it took a lot of time and death civilians until this “request” where hared.

At the end I have to agree with you at one point. I would rather have been under British knout then e.g. under national imperialistic japans regime. But still I prefer to have my political, cultural and economical freedom instead being something like a modern slave of an colonial regime.

(Please don’t think I don’t know the good things the GB Empire tried to do. I know GB was one of the first fighting for woman’s right, actively against slavery etc. I just oppose strongly to the concept of colonialism. Even with the best intentions colonialism won’t work in favor of a stabile and peaceful world.)
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Kartoffel Kanzler
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also how they divided country's after they left was NOT based on the different peoples, like the kurds, or african nomads.

Colonies were made solely for the benefit of the home country and was a bad idea, no matter what, they subjegated years of history. The british practiced slavery for a little while, just as the USA did.

The british weren't perfect. Niongor I honor your pride but the british weren't the greatest people, no single ethnicity is, they all have a stain somewhere, no matter the size. The british had northern ireland's problems after trying to take ireland. The british had a bad prime minister at the treaty of versailles. The british, they used south africa for diamonds and what not, and the english(specifically) they tax the scots, welsh and n.irish for their own greed alot, the scots that i know all say the english take their oil money, that they worked for an deserve.

I don't hate britian but they ain't perfect. all countries have some atrocity, the british did their fair share too. Germany, japan, soviet union(the largest quantity by far!), usa, so on.

You can love a country but they did do bad things, each of them.
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